Modern Mining July 2025

A high level of expertise in the field service teams is also essential to customers – especially those in remote areas where access to infrastructure is more difficult. This, he says, is another vital aspect of the company’s strategy to ‘close the loop’ with solutions and services that enhance customers’ uptime and performance. “The Drive Academy continues to be a valuable resource for us and the broader industry, which is why we are planning to give it much more space when it moves to our new facility,” he says. “There will also be more trainers in place by the time we move it over.” The growth plans are also being driven by new markets where SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa is finding suitable products within the group’s global offering. Recently, this has even included the agricultural sector, where a comprehensive gearbox solution for centre pivot irrigation systems is now available to local farmers. “We are responsive to these opportunities, as we have shown over the past five years or so with our planetary gearbox range which now serves applications as diverse as automotive, mobility and conveyors,” he explains. This year alone, the group has already launched 16 new products – pushing the boundaries in terms of industrial gears, geared motors, electronics and artificial intelligence. This reflects the innovative approach and the research and development capability that is driving opportunities into existing and new markets, he says. “What’s important is that the innovation is driven from the ground up by the SEW EURODRIVE operations around the world,” says Obermeyer, who sits on global steering committees to guide the various aspects of technological innovation. “This is crucial to keeping our solutions aligned with our customers’ real daily needs and priorities.” He concludes that SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa is committed to keeping up its investments in Africa, to proactively drive the business to meet the market’s current and future needs. “We understand clearly that companies who want to be leaders in 20 years’ time must make real commitments now,” he says. “Gearboxes are always going to be a fundamental part of production – from minerals to cars and food – so we must stay ahead to keep the wheels of industry turning across Africa.” n

SEW-EURODRIVE’s new PPK planetary gear unit offers a compact high performance solution ideal for space-constrained industrial applications requiring robust torque transmission.

SEW-EURODRIVE offers expert industrial gearbox repairs, delivering OEM-quality restoration to extend equipment life and minimise costly downtime for industrial operations.

will provide. Obermeyer says the plans include the installation of state-of-the art equipment like robotic welders and five-axis machines for gear cutting and bringing aspects like base plate fabrication and sand blasting in-house. Considerable investment is also being made in cranage capacity. He emphasises skills development as a key enabler for the company’s service and repair focus which is the rationale for expanding its Drive Academy. The academy provides specialised training not only for SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa’s people, but also for customers and partners around the continent. “As we grow our local capability, and roll out our service centres across Africa, we rely on building our skills base,” he says. “Our people must be skilled and experienced in a range of functions and equipment – such as our full rewinds and other motor repairs as well as machining and fabrication.”

everything we sell, quickly and efficiently.” This means the ability to support a growing range of products as new markets are opened and innovations are launched. He goes further to say that this technical capability is even growing to include other OEMs’ equipment, which SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa has the capability to support cost effectively and to the highest standard. “We are one of the few OEMs in the country who has the advanced design and engineering infrastructure – including our access to the group’s world class facilities in Germany – to deliver this service,” he says. “We can even provide the same warranties on the work we conduct on other OEM’s componentry and gearboxes, as our quality standards are so rigorous.” Among the activities housed in the new facility will be the company’s existing industrial gearbox repairs division, and there will be additions to the equipment fleet to augment the services that it

JULY 2025 | www.modernminingmagazine.co.za  MODERN MINING  29